My son’s wife asked
me to pull photos of our life together and she and my granddaughter would make
the photo collages for John’s celebration. I had organized our photographs by
year fairly soon after I retired. I simply wanted to give her the boxes and let
her choose, but she wanted me to pick them instead.
A couple of weeks
after John’s death, I pulled the boxes out of the closet and prepared myself
for a chore I simply didn’t want to do. Amazingly, the process of going through
all the photos of our years together (and even before we met), was like
applying a good antiseptic balm to a very bad burn.
I spent an afternoon going through all
those photos and the memories they brought back. It was amazing how seeing us
as we were as children, young adults, a newly married couple, with each of our
children and then grandchildren brought back so many wonderful memories of
great times, experiences, and our deep love for each other.
Grief and anger may have been at the
forefront of my thoughts prior to doing this, but once I was finished, I felt
at peace. We had had a great life together. We had had great experiences together.
We had raised two wonderful boys who became wonderful husbands and fathers.
Despite all the angst, anger, frustration, and a seemingly lack of caring for
each other during those last years, the truth was we did love and care for each
other.
What a wonderful gift my
daughter-in-law gave me, most likely without thinking it was a gift, but it
most definitely was. And, the memory boards she made from those photos…well,
they’re in the closet now and will continue to bring me comfort as needed
because they illustrate our remarkable history.
